Archive For: Tech Topics

Do you ever think about all those marks and logos on electronic equipment? You should, they’re your assurance of product quality. Bill Dehner, technical marketing engineer at AutomationDirect and Tim Dunn, design engineer at Host Engineering, wrote an article for the November 2018 issue of Design News titled Why Product Testing and Certification Really Matters, ... Read More

~No Purchase Necessary for Free PLC Training~ As the world around us becomes more and more automated, an understanding of electrical control systems becomes more and more vital. Manufacturers, as well as the technicians, integrators, and/or engineers they employ, know firsthand the benefits automation provides. In fact, for many, automation has been the key to ... Read More

Ethernet is the most widely used network in industrial plants and facilities. Here’s a primer covering its foundational concepts. Bill Dehner, technical marketing engineer at AutomationDirect, wrote an article for the October 2018 issue of IMPO titled Ethernet Basics for Facilities. Here’s a summary, please click on the link above for the full text. Industrial ... Read More

Bulk multi-conductor cable is a convenient way to connect electrical power and signals. Below are answers to some of the most frequently asked questions about bulk multi-conductor cable: Why use a shielded cable? What is the difference between cord and cable? Why use VFD cable? What does ‘Exposed Run’ mean? What is the difference between ... Read More

The tried and true industrial data collection methods of the last several decades will expand into the future as Big Data and IIoT technology developments lead to more data, analytics and related benefits. Bill Dehner, Technical Marketing Engineer at AutomationDirect, wrote an article for the September-October issue of IEN titled Data-Driven Trends. Dehner says many ... Read More

When selecting a controller, current and future needs should be considered to ensure flexibility. Winn Paulk is the Automation Controls Group Product Manager at AutomationDirect, and he wrote an article appearing in the September-October 2018 issue of IMPO titled Choosing the Right Controller for Your Industrial Automation Application. Here’s a summary, please click on the ... Read More

Industrial automation cables in any lengths you choose Low price per foot – with NO cut charges All cable from Automation Direct is now available in your specified lengths, so you can eliminate waste and purchase only as much cable as you need. We offer one low price per foot for each cable type, low minimum lengths, and ... Read More

Andrew Waugh, Product Manager, Sensor and Safety Products at AutomationDirect.com, wrote an article for the September 2018 issue of Design World titled Wide and Narrow Views of Position Sensors, here’s a summary. Limit switches, photoelectric switches and laser sensors all provide position sensing, but depending on the application some shine and reflect better. Waugh points ... Read More

Jerry Reaves, PLC silo product manager at AutomationDirect, wrote an article for the July 2018 issue of Control Engineering titled Comparing ladder logic and object oriented programming In the article, he discussed how many young automation professionals are comfortable with object oriented programming (OOP), but Reaves says ladder logic remains the standard for industrial automation applications: ... Read More

Ethernet is the most widely used network in industrial plants and facilities, here’s a primer covering its foundational concepts. By: Bill Dehner, AutomationDirect Ethernet was first conceived and deployed in a research setting in the 1970s and was soon standardized in the early 1980s under IEEE 802.3. This quickly led to commercial adoption in office ... Read More